Olivia Rodrigo surprised Billy Joel fans when she stopped by his Madison Square Garden concert to perform two songs with the music legend.
The pop star joined the Piano Man on stage in New York City on Wednesday night for a short performance. While welcoming Rodrigo on stage, Joel said, “I love her music — and so do my kids.” He then accompanied her on piano as she sang her hit “deja vu,” in which she name drops Joel, singing, “Play her piano, but she doesn’t know / That I was the one who taught you Billy Joel.” The pair then followed that up with a rendition of his iconic 1983 song “Uptown Girl.” For the occasion, Rodrigo wore a Vivienne Westwood Red Label black velvet corset with a matching choker, a yellow plaid mini skirt, and black combat boots.
Following the set, the pair hugged and posed for photos together backstage. Rodrigo later shared one of those backstage selfies on her Instagram Stories, writing alongside the shot, “Biggest honor ever. Still crying thank u Billy!!!!!!!” In another Story, she posted a video of the huge crowd at Madison Square Garden singing along to Joel’s hit “Piano Man.” She wrote on top of the clip, “I SANG WITH BILLY JOEL AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN TODAY ARE U KIDDING.”
Joel also shared a professional photo of the two of them together backstage on his own Instagram account with a caption that read, “Olivia Rodrigo makes a special appearance at Billy Joel’s 82nd residency show at MSG!” In a second post showing them singing together, he added, “good 4 u if you made it to @thegarden tonight! @oliviarodrigo hit the stage as Billy Joel’s surprise guest.”
The “Driver’s License” singer is the latest in a long line of all-star guests that Joel has invited to join him on stage since starting his record-breaking residency at Madison Square Garden in January 2014. Other guests have including Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jon Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Fallon, John Mayer, and Miley Cyrus. Joel has said he will continue performing at the arena monthly for “as long as the demand continues.” So far, every show has been totally sold out, selling over 1.5 million tickets and grossing more than $181 million over the course of the first and only arena-sized residency in music history.
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